Sounds like Mark Richt has gotten over his Jacksonville grudge:
“If you can’t get excited about playing Florida in that venue, you shouldn’t be a Bulldog. Period,” Richt said. “We all understand that. I think everybody is going to get their blood pumping for that.”
Some of us have said that all along.
I guess the weather and the travel don’t look as bad on the other side of 3-18.
Get The Picture 
Where are all the Dawg fans that wanted to game moved?
Are you still there? Speak up, I can’t hear you.
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Just because we won the last two games does not change the FACT that Jacksonville is not neutral. It isn’t, no matter how hard you try to convince yourselves that it is.
Now, it is not a huge advantage at all. It is a small one, but it occurs every single year. I have always felt that the Gators having the exclusive bye all those years was a bigger advantage.
And I am not a fall on my sword type that the game should be moved. It is a special event and I love going to it. But it is an advantage to drive over to the game vice flying down…if ever so slight. Georgia has been the better team the last few years. Better teams win on the enemy’s home turf quite frequently. Until the last couple of years, Georgia and Auburn always seemed to win in each other’s stadium. That did not mean that the home team did not have an advantage. It meant that the visitor was good enough to overcome it.
Winning in Jacksonville does not change that the Gators have a slight edge. Now, to preserve the tradition and history of the game, it is considered worth keeping it in Jacksonville. But don’t kid yourself that it is like OU and Texas, where both schools are equidistant from the Cotton Bowl. Even Army-Navy is pretty much half way between the two Academies. Nothing about Jacksonville is halfway. It is a semi-home game for the Gators.
Again, no need to change it. To cry about it is a waste of time. But it is not home and home and the mere fact we play this game in Jax and we play Tech every year, limits our ability to schedule good OOC games and that will become more pronounced when we go to 9 conference games.
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I appreciate your thoughtful and insightful opinion, Bob. If the WLOCP is to be viewed in a vacuum, I would agree with what you said. However, the game is not in a vacuum. Playing this game in JAX every year, away from Sanford Stadium, screws up the UGA home schedule every other year. In those years UGA only has 3 SEC home games, 4 SEC away games and 1 “neutral site” conference game (the WLOCP). As stated in your post above, JAX isn’t really a neutral site. Ever wonder why Auburn has 8 home games some years and at least 7 every year? It is because the WarTigersPlainsmen don’t have a problem like this on their schedule. Same thing with Bama. Same thing with LSU, South Carolina and every other major program in the SEC. Also, while not a “big” advantage to Florida, it is an advantage. Why would we ever want to give an advantage (of any size) to our biggest division rival? Ask Bama fans if they would agree to Bama playing LSU in New Orleans at the Superdome every year because it would be a “fun trip” and you’d get laughed out of town. You at least recognize the scheduling problems the JAX game causes for the OOC schedule and, yes, a 9 conference game schedule will make the WLOCP scheduling problem worse. The reality is this game causes a problem for Georgia’s schedule whether UGA is winning the game or not.
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Amen to 8 home games
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If we played this series home and away, and still played Tech home and away, half the years we would have 7 home games and the other half we would have 8 home games. Think about that. Also, Jax Municipal Stadium/Gator Bowl (or whatever they call it-it seems to change monthly) only seats about 74,000 people. Both the Swamp and Sanford Stadium seat over 90,000. Basically 16,000 fans of each team get disenfranchised by this game being in JAX. If we had this game on a home and away basis, roughly 80,000 Georgia fans and 10,000 Florida fans would see the game in Athens and 80,000 Florida fans and 10,000 Georgia fans would see it in Gainesville. As it stands now roughly 37,000 Georgia fans and 37,000 Florida fans see the game each year. My point is a whole lot more UGA fans will get to see the Dawgs play the Gators if we switched this series to home and away. But since when did what was best for the fans ever matter? It’s all about the dinero. As long as the city fathers of Jax continue to bribe the Florida and Georgia athletics departments to come there, the game will be played there–unless there is a fan uprising. That’s what it would take to change things.
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Yeah right Mayor, like people really really want to go to gross Gainesville FL and tailgate at that cesspool. There is no breeze, no trees, no beaches, no water, no golf, no nothing except shit. Yeah, great idea.
And if you think there will be a fan uprising after 75 years then you have lost what little sense you have. The shit ain’t moving, stop whining.
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This argument gets more pitiful every time you make it. Absolutely fine for you to have a different opinion but could you make just one point that makes some sense. There is not one point in your case that make any sense to give up one of CFB’s best traditions, these are even worse than the ones you made before (tough road trip for UGA players, pretty funny that one, and UGA can’t win there, really?) Unless you run a restaurant or hotel in Athens, you should never feel we need a change because it has zero negative impact for the Dawgs to play in Jacksonville.
I really don’t want Gator fans in Athens, and don’t feel any UGA fans should have to go to Gainesville…ever. FU has the worst fans in the SEC, and the dirtiest team we play every year.
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Present. The Cocktail Party is great despite the fact its in that ‘hole of a city. While the 50/50 split is an awesome experience, the actual stadium sucks. Even worse, tailgating in an industrial park should be reserved for the N Florida trash that resides there.
I’m not saying to move the game permanently from Jax, but a rotating schedule of Jax/Atl/Home and Home would keep the “tradition” alive, while welcoming the rivalry to today’s college football world. And no I won’t get off your yard.
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Chris,
Your trips to Jacksonville have most likely involved heading to the stadium, tailgating pre-game, and then getting in your car or bus and leaving. In other words, you don’t know shit about Jacksonville, FL. But that is fine since you probably think Atlanta is heaven and that tailgating outside the Georgia Dome is pure bliss. Look, the game isn’t leaving Jacksonville and if you think our stadium sucks, then you don’t get out much because there are plenty of venues that fail to measure up to Everbank Field.
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I agree completely with you, however J action ville still sucks to me. Personal opinion thats all.
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Tailgating in Jacksonville is wayyyyyy better than tailgating in ATL. If we’re going to rotate, just leave ATL out of the equation altogether.
I have no issues with Jax, though.
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My issues with having the game in JAX have nothing to do with the city, the game venue, the quality of tailgating or any of that. It has to do with giving the Georgia Bulldogs football team the best possible chance (yes, even an advantage if possible) to win the SEC East, the SEC Championship and hopefully the National Championship. Period. That venue gives an advantage to Florida so I’m “agin” it.
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This
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While your intentions are good, your comments are pure BS. The venue had absolutely nothing with Terrance Edwards dropping that pass from Greene, nor did it have anything to do with Lito Sheppard intercepting Quincy’s pass right before the half when we were up 17-9, and it had nothing to do with Mitchell’s catch last year which won the game for us. Teh better team usually wins in this series, sure there are exceptions because it’s a rivalry game, but you and hte others need to stop whining about it and just deal with the fact that taking a bus vs a plane to the game doesn’t decide on who will win!
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Can I have 3-0 Dawgs and a game ending lightning storm now?
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I would take it. In fact, I would even take one of those 3-2 “classics”.
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The only things missing would be cowbells and the great Bob Davies
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Travel impacts the game Senator. Anyone that’s ever played will tell you that. Doesn’t mean Jax isn’t a great venue. But let’s not put our head in the sand over the impact that traveling has. Now that we go by plane, it is MUCH better than going by bus.
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Keep the WLOCP in Jax’ville? Absolutely! It’s not just a game, it’s an adventurous partying mini vacation. GO DAWGS SIC ‘EM
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He already said how he felt about it and wasnt going to bring it up anymore. Hes not advocating for it to stay there…
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Agreed. Fans like to go there an party. It’s really hypocritical IMO. They scream about “there’s no I in team” but then put their own pleasure for the venue of this game above the team. Glad we are finally flying down there instead of riding a bus. If we had to bus to Atlanta, catch a flight, then bus from the airport in Jax to the hotel, your talking about eating up half a day or more of travel. Or going by bus. That certainly impacts the ability of the team to play well.
There’s a reason CMR wants the game moved.
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Since nobody is going to move section HD, I really have only one Dawg in this hunt. I have spent many, mostly joyous hours in the Gator Bowl, or whatever they call it this week, but frankly, and I do realize this is sacrilege, if the head coach wants to move the game, thinks playing in Jacksonville is an advantage for the bad guys, move the game.
The only reasons for not having home and home are commercial…these are the armies of the night beckoning.
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